


Silent Flight

by HighWarlockMegaraBane



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! 5D's
Genre: Brotherly Love, Brotherly Support, Deaf, Gen, Kids, multi-chapter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-28
Updated: 2019-03-27
Packaged: 2019-11-07 02:25:57
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,906
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17951894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HighWarlockMegaraBane/pseuds/HighWarlockMegaraBane
Summary: Crow can't hear, and subsequently can't speak. Hopefully this doesn't make it too hard for him as he grows.Tags will update as chapters update. Work on this one is gonna be slow,  so bear with me.Mostly going to be a collection of oneshots instead of a full consecutive story.





	1. Getting Accustomed

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! This is something I teased on my tumblr a while back, but finally got to a point where I liked it enough to post it. Chapter updates are going to be really slow, as I'm working on this, Awkward First Dates, my original story, and The Lightwood-Bane Chronicles all simultaneously, so please bear with me.
> 
> *The sign language the boys use is not traditional ASL because they're just kids coming up with a way to communicate with each other*
> 
> *Italics = signed*
> 
> Anyway. Enjoy!

Crow didn’t speak.

               He had been living with them for about two weeks now, having moved in one afternoon after following Jack and Yusei home—Martha assumed at their invitation, because they seemed okay living in the same room. Whenever she made dinner, they would eat; and once they were done, when Yusei and Jack thanked her, Crow would smile and nod, often giving her a thumbs up and a toothy grin if it was _really_ good.

               But he never spoke, and she was beginning to worry.

               Martha made breakfast one morning, Yusei and Jack joining her early. They came down the stairs without Crow, laughing and pushing each other. Jack loudly asked what was for breakfast and threw himself in a chair. Yusei followed more quietly, but looked excited as Martha scooped pancakes onto their plates.

               “Where’s Crow?” she asked, glancing at the empty third seat.

               “In bed,” Jack replied through a mouthful of pancakes.

               “And you didn’t wake him?”

               “He’s impossible to wake anyway,” the blond snorted, rolling his eyes. Yusei frowned at him.

               “I’ll go get him,” Martha sighed, shaking her head as she walked out of the kitchen.

               “Martha, wait—,” Yusei started, while Jack made a similar noise.

               “You two eat your breakfast,” she called back, already starting up the stairs. “I’ll get Crow.”

               She stopped outside the boys’ bedroom door and knocked. “Crow?” she called in. There wasn’t an answer, so she pushed open the door. The lights were all on but Crow was burrowed in his bed, one hand dangling out of bed so his fingertips touched the floor. He was laying almost sideways on his bed, the only thing visible from the mess of blankets being some strands of vibrant red hair.

               “Crow, honey,” Martha called gently, smiling to herself. “Breakfast is ready.”

               She heard feet pounding up the stairs and Yusei appeared at her elbow. He peeked in and reached for the light switch. Before she could ask what he was doing, he’d flickered the lights a few times. Crow made a grumbling noise and curled up tighter.

               “Aw, come on,” Yusei sighed, and walked in. Martha watched, curious, and realized what Yusei was planning as soon as the onyx-haired boy grabbed handfuls of Crow’s blanket.

               “Yusei,” she warned hastily, but it was too late—in one swift movement, Yusei had yanked all of the blankets off the bed, hard enough that he stumbled backwards. Crow jerked upright, slipping off the edge of the bed and landing hard on the ground. He rubbed his head and yawned, glaring at Yusei.

               “Come on,” Yusei insisted, beckoning. “Breakfast.”

               Crow perked up and rolled easily to his feet, his gaze turning on Martha as he stood. He jerked a little, as if her presence startled him, but grinned at her and darted from the room, running out and down the stairs. She watched him go, confused. Yusei shrugged at her, smiling too, and followed the youngest.

               Confused, Martha rubbed the back of her head. _What was that all about?_

               That night, she eavesdropped on the three of them after her curiosity got the better of her. She crouched outside their closed bedroom door and peeked in through the keyhole. If nothing else, she was determined to hear what his voice sounded like.

               She found Yusei and Crow sitting opposite each other on the floor, their decks spread out in front of them in a mock duel. Jack was on all fours off to the side, looking back and forth between the two sides of the match. A piece of paper and a pencil lay in front of him.

               “So then my Sonic Chick attacks your monster,” Yusei exclaimed, thrusting out a hand. He tapped the face of his card and then with the same finger tapped the face of Crow’s. The little redhead frowned down at it, then moved the card off of the field.

               “That takes your Life Points down to 3000,” Jack said, scribbling something on a piece of paper and moving it so Crow could look. He nodded and drew a card.

               Silently, he placed two facedowns and another one faceup. Then, he tapped it twice, let Jack and Yusei read it, and put another beside it.

               “That’s some ability, being able to draw out other monsters from your hand,” Yusei said excitedly. “I wish my deck had some cool monsters like that.”

               In one swipe, Crow moved his two faceup cards and left a white-backed one in their place. The other two boys leaned in to look again, nearly knocking heads. Crow tapped the white card and then tapped Yusei’s.

               “Sonic Chick can’t be destroyed by a monster with 1900 or more attack,” Yusei commented, tapping twice on his monster. Crow peered at it, frowning. Then he looked to Jack, who was writing again.

               “But you still take damage,” Jack replied, squinting his eyes at his math. “Since it’s in attack mode and all.”

               Crow looked patiently between them, drumming his fingers against the cards in his hand. He didn’t seem concerned at all.

               Martha sat back on her heels, frowning to herself. He wasn’t even speaking to them. They seemed to be able to communicate alright—but was there something preventing Crow from talking? Was he sick? Or was he unable to?

               Maybe she’d ask the boys tomorrow. She was determined to figure it out now.

 

“Yusei, darling?”

               The onyx-haired kid looked up from where he was poking at an anthill with a stick. Jack had stayed inside to escape the midday heat, and Crow was at the playset around the corner with a couple of other kids. Yusei could hear them shrieking and laughing from where he crouched off the front doorstep. Martha stood just inside the doorway, her short sleeves rolled up to her shoulders and her hair pulled back off of her neck.

               “Yes, Martha?” he asked curiously.

               “Can you come here a moment, dear? I just want to talk to you about something.”

               Abandoning his stick, Yusei rose to his feet. He caught Crow staring at him from on top of the jungle gym and raised a hand in a wave. The redhead waved back before looking down and dropping to the ground.

               Yusei headed inside, grateful for the breeze that blew through the open windows of the house, however stiff. The middle of summer could get unbearably hot sometimes. He followed Martha into the kitchen where he found Jack sitting at the kitchen table with a glass of water, his deck, and a pencil and paper. Yusei dropped into the chair beside him.

               “Boys, I want to talk to you about something serious.” Martha leaned back against the counter and waited until both sets of eyes were on her before she continued: “It’s about Crow.”

               They exchanged looks. “What about him?” Jack asked.

               “You aren’t sending him away, are you?” Yusei insisted immediately. “He doesn’t have anywhere else to go.”

               “And you _said_ he could stay!” Jack added.

               “Boys, hush,” she said sternly. “I am _not_ sending him away.” More gently, she continued, “I’m worried about why he doesn’t talk.”

               “Oh, that’s all?” Yusei shrugged. “He just doesn’t.”

               “Do you know why not?” Martha asked. “Is he shy?”

               “He can’t,” Jack emphasized. “When we first met him, he tried to say something to us, but we couldn’t understand him.”

               “It was like he never learned how to talk,” Yusei replied, “or like he’d never heard anyone talk before. And he doesn’t respond when we talk to him.”

               “Really?” she mused softly. Yusei nodded. Jack took another drink of his water.

               “He also can’t tell when you come up behind him,” the dark-haired boy continued. “So if he’s in a room with his back to the door, we either flicker the lights or stomp on the ground—like something he can feel—to let him know we’re there.”

               “If you touch him suddenly he jumps and Crow _really_ doesn’t like to be startled,” Jack put in.

               A suspicion was beginning to nag at Martha’s mind. “Does he sit with his back to you often?”

               Jack shook his head. “No, he’s always facing us, or if he’s alone he sits facing the door so he can see us when we come in. And if he wants to get our attention, he’ll move in front of us or touch our shoulders.”

               “I see. I’ve seen you guys duel—how do you do that if he doesn’t talk to you?”

               “Oh, we came up with a system!” Using Jack’s deck, already spread on the table, the two boys set up a mock duel field, with facedowns, monsters, and hands. “See,” Yusei explained, “we came up with a series of movements or signs depending on what we’re doing. This”—he tapped a monster on his side and then one on Jack’s—“that’s an attack. If a monster is using an ability, we do this”—he tapped his monster twice.

               “Spells and traps are easier—just tap the back and flip it over,” Jack continued, demonstrating. “If it’s continuous, just tap it twice every time it activates.”

               “If an ability or card acts on the graveyard, extra deck, hand, or standard deck, you tap the card twice, and then whatever it acts on once,” Yusei relayed, demonstrating the motion.

               Martha was impressed. “You boys are so smart for figuring all of that out,” she praised. They both beamed at her. “I do just have one more question—how do you guys talk? If he doesn’t speak to you, I’m sure that’s hard.”

               “Not really,” Yusei shrugged while Jack shook his head. “We came up with gestures for everything.”

               “Can you show me some?” she asked. “I feel badly not being able to talk to him if he can’t hear me.”

               The next hour or two was spent with the three of them at the table, showing Martha the basics of their gestures until she was able to repeat them back from memory.

 

_So Crow’s deaf._

               Martha pulled down a medicine book from the shelf in the living room, letting it fall open in her hands. She had never dealt with deafness before—she had taught kids to walk, taught them to speak, taught them to read and write and do maths—but never one who couldn’t hear.

               She found the chapter on hearing impairments she was looking for and sat down to read. Yusei and Jack had gone back outside to brave the heat about an hour before, and Martha had some time before she needed to begin preparing dinner. About halfway through her chapter, she heard some quiet shuffling, a long pause, and then a gentle knock.

               Crow was standing in the doorway, his lightly balled fist resting against the frame of the door. He was just in his torn shorts, tank top, and bare feet—she could see his boots and socks discarded in the hallway behind him.

               “Did you need something, darling?” she asked, and then hesitated. She raised a hand to beckon him forward, but he came in of his own accord, looking nervous. When he stopped in front of her, he made a note to have both feet planted firmly on the hardwood, a fact that she didn’t miss. _Probably so he can feel if anything happens._

               He opened his mouth, closed it again, frowned, looked down, and then back up. He swallowed. Then he raised a hand to his temple and flicked his fingers quickly away. _I don’t know._ Then he stared at her expectantly, shyly.

               _Yusei and Jack must have told him that they taught me their language._ Martha set her book to the side. “I’m not very good,” she warned, unsure of whether or not he could read lips. Her movements felt awkward and clumsy, but she managed to make the two signs for Jack and Yusei’s name.

               It was like a switch had been flipped. His entire face lit up like a lamp and a bright grin split his features. He nodded at her and repeated the motions. _Yusei and Jack._

               She exhaled in relief. _Yusei and Jack showed me how you talk._

               He nodded, then drew his thumb across his lips. _I can’t speak._

               _I know. You can’t hear._

               Crow tilted his head. _I don’t know—hear._ His brows furrowed. _Speak?_ This gesture—tapping his lip with a finger—was flicked up into the air. Yusei had mentioned that was indicative of a question.

               _No, hear._ Martha tapped her ears. _I speak—you can’t hear._

               It seemed to dawn on him. He opened his mouth and tapped the hollow of his throat. _I feel it here when I feel Yusei speak. If I put my hand here, I feel it. But I can’t._ His expression turned a little forlorn.

               Martha sighed. She felt awful for Crow—it was obvious he felt at least a little bit left out, but she wasn’t sure what to do. She hadn’t ever tried to teach someone who couldn’t hear her how to talk. She didn’t even know if he _wanted_ to learn. She settled for, _I don’t know._

               He nodded a little, looking away. Then he looked back, and made a gesture she was unfamiliar with. She shook her head and repeated, _I don’t know_ — and mimicked his gesture. He frowned. Then his head turned suddenly. Almost in sync, Martha heard the front door slam, and Jack and Yusei laughing to each other as they stomped unceremoniously down the hall.

               “Take off your shoes,” she called instinctively. Yusei appeared in the doorway, saw Crow, and beckoned with one hand. The redhead shook his head and beckoned toward himself, harder than the dark-haired boy.

               Confused, Yusei came in, signing a question at him. Crow pointed to Martha—who looked at Yusei and gave him a stern “Shoes”—repeated the unfamiliar motion, and gestured to Yusei.

               “Oh, he’s saying thank you,” Yusei said aloud, sitting down on the carpet to pull his boots off right there. Martha’s lips parted in surprise as she turned back to the redhead, who was smiling at her.

               “Thank you for what?” she asked, forgetting for a moment that he couldn’t hear her. Yusei looked up to watch as Crow made another series of gestures and then looked expectantly at him.

               “He says thank you for cooking all the time, and for talking to him, and for letting him live here.” Succeeding in yanking his boots off, Yusei stood up with them in one hand. “Crow, when you’re done, we’re upstairs.” All of his words were punctuated by quick hand movements.

               Martha felt tears welling in her eyes and she stood up quickly. Crow looked up at her, but she just as quickly dropped to her knees and pulled the small boy into a tight hug. He stiffened for a moment before relaxing and putting his arms around her neck.

               “Of course, darling, of course,” she repeated, hugging him tightly. His shoulders shook and a rasping, laughing sound bubbled from his throat as he hugged her back. “I’ll always take care of you.”


	2. Soaring

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This takes place before the start of Season 1, just after Jack leaves Satellite. This is also assuming Yusei and Crow had contact and talked regularly after the Enforcers (which is neither confirmed nor denied in the canon). Crow's 16, Yusei's 17, Jack's 18, if we're going by the Wikia ages at the start of the Dark Signer Arc.
> 
> The canon frustrates me, can I just say?
> 
> Anyways. The next oneshot will either be way before or way after this one chronologically. So I'm not going in any particular order.
> 
> *Italics = Signed*

Martha looked up as a familiar knock echoed through the house. She smiled and waited in the kitchen, eyes expectantly on the doorway, and sure enough, a boy who had long since been taller than her poked his head around. His face broke into a grin.

               _Hey, Martha._

               “Crow,” she sighed, coming forward to hug him. Just like before, his arms were around her neck, but now out of necessity. It was quick and she pulled back to frown at him. Last time she had seen him, he had only the M-shaped marker on his forehead and one on his left cheek. Now, there were two more—a small one joining the one on his forehead and another on his right cheek. _You got marked again, you little brat._

               He laughed, reaching up a hand to touch his cheek. The laugh was just as raspy and uneven as it had been all those years ago. _They’re going to run out of places to put them soon._

               _Have you seen Yusei and Jack recently? They never come visit anymore._

               Crow’s smile faded and he looked away. His hands stilled and one found the back of his neck while the other slipped into his pocket. He shrugged.

               “Crow?” she asked aloud, reaching out to touch his shoulder. “Is everything alright?”

               He nodded—the years had taught him to read lips just as well as he could read the sign language they continued to develop. Crow put his hands back in front of him, started the sentence several times only to stop again, sighed, cracked his knuckles, and finally settled for _They’re not around._

 _What do you mean, not around?_ Martha’s heart was beginning to pound. _Are they okay?_

               _Yes, yes, it’s okay,_ he insisted, grey eyes widening as he saw her fear. _Jack ran off. He went to the city. He took Yusei’s bike and his—_ He fumbled for a word, and finally settled for, _his best card._

               Martha exhaled, folding her hands in front of her mouth. _Oh, Jack,_ she thought forlornly, looking out the front window, where she could just see the top of the skyline over the trees. Ever since the three of them had begun hanging out with Kiryu Kessler, Jack’s personality had swung wildly from the tiny, shy little boy she had taken in.

               Crow reached out to get her attention. _Yusei’s okay—he’s building a new bike, and living with—_ another fumble, a mouthed swear, and then a sign for a name she didn’t know. When she shook her head, he moved from a name to a more familiar word, _friends._

               _And you? Are you okay?_

               Crow smiled again, grey eyes brightening, as he held up one finger. Backpedaling quickly, he darted from the house, leaving the door wide open. Martha trailed after him, eyebrows raised.

               Crow was crouched by his bike—a parting gift from his old friend Robert Pearson—and signing delicately to a tiny girl who stood in front of him. Martha’s eyes widened, and her lips parted as several other little kids appeared from around the other side of his bike. Each’s gaze was fixated on his hands, but when he gestured toward the house, five little heads turned to stare at her.

               Taking a girl’s hand in his and scooping a boy who couldn’t have been more than two into his arms, Crow gently lead them to the front step. They hid behind his legs and the little boy burrowed his face into Crow’s neck, small hand curling into the collar of his jacket.

               “Who are—” _Who are these kids?_ she asked, hardly able to stop her shaking hands. Her house had been so quiet since the boys had left, and now… Now she hoped Crow was going to ask what she thought he was.

               Trying to maneuver around the child clinging like a koala to his torso, Crow awkwardly signed back. _These are my kids. This is—_ another unfamiliar name sign – _and he can’t speak yet. I can’t teach him, and I’m afraid he’ll never learn with me. I was wondering if you could watch—_

               “Yes.” Martha interrupted before he had even finished. His hands froze, surprise coloring his features. “Yes, yes, of course I’ll take care of them, Crow, darling, of _course_ I will.”

               He broke into a brilliant grin. _Thank you, Martha, thank you._

               It took some coercing, but they finally got the little boy to unclench from Crow’s shirt although he insisted on sitting on his lap. Martha sat on the couch and Crow on the floor in the living room. The small boy perched on his lap, thumb in his mouth with his other hand clutching Crow’s jacket. The other little kids sat in a tight huddle around him, alternating between signing at him, whispering to each other, and looking awkwardly at Martha.

               Crow leaned back, caught her eye, and signed, _Maybe introduce yourself? They’re nervous._

               Martha smiled knowingly at him. “Hey, kids,” she said gently, gaining five pairs of eyes. “My name’s Martha. I’m Crow’s mother.”

               “Really?” a boy with messy dark hair asked, wrinkling his nose. “You don’t look old enough to be his mom.”

               Martha laughed, then signed at Crow: _I think they’re calling you old._

               Crow frowned, then leaned in and pinched the younger boy’s ear, making him squeal and laugh. The thief had a small smile playing on his features regardless.

               “What’re your names?” Martha asked, smiling at her adoptive son.

               “I’m Ty,” he answered boldly. “This is Sera, Piper, Blake, and the little one is Toby.”

               “Are you kids hungry?” she asked gently. “I can make some cookies.”

               They all looked at Crow like a flock of baby birds, who hadn’t been paying attention, but trying to stop Toby from pulling on his earrings. He looked up at Martha but didn’t request clarification. The meaning in his gaze was clear— _I trust you._

               She stood up from the couch, smoothing out her dress. “If you guys would like to help me, I might have some sweets already made in the kitchen.”

               When Crow didn’t argue, they all stood and followed her excitedly, all exclaiming their favorite type of cookie. She smiled over her shoulder at Crow, who was beaming at her. He looked like he had a massive weight taken off his shoulders. _Thank you_ , he mouthed at her.

               Sending the kids on ahead, she came in and held out her hands for Toby. He made a small whimpering noise and clutched onto Crow, but the older boy made a quick sign— _it’s okay—_ and smiled at him. The little boy didn’t seem convinced, but gently clambered off of Crow’s lap at his urging and looked up at Martha.

               “Hi, Toby,” she said gently. “Do you want to come?”

               “Come on, Toby!” Ty called from the doorway, beckoning. “We’ll get you some chocolate!”

               Crow sat back on his hands as the toddler took Martha’s finger, toddling along beside her. She turned over her shoulder. _Get some rest, you look tired._

               Not even fifteen minutes later, she returned to find Crow fast asleep on the couch, one hand dangling to the floor. She smiled, leaning against the doorframe. As she watched, he rolled over so he was on his stomach, mumbling in his sleep, and his other hand went to the floor while one arm curled over his head.

               He had never grown out of sleeping with a hand on the floor, it seemed—it was the way he would fall asleep when he was a kid so he would be woken if someone was moving around in the room. It made it harder to sneak around him, but they had all learned how to.

               Tenderly, she entered the room, careful to make her footsteps slow and light, and covered his lanky form with the blanket from the armchair. He barely twitched.

               _Looking after those bundles of energy has to take it out of him,_ she thought with a soft chuckle. _Now at least he knows how I felt raising the three of them._

               A loud shriek from the kitchen made her jump, and she sighed. _Somedays, I think I’ll wish to not be able to hear this chaos_ , she thought, shaking her head as she went to investigate. Privately, though, she was glad. The house was too big and quiet when it was just her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is shorter than I thought it was.
> 
> If you have any topics or scenes you want to see, please leave suggestions! I'm always open to them!


End file.
